A Senior United Nations Consultant, Richard Bendis, arrived in Accra last night to kick off the 2005 Ghana Summit on Technology & Sustainable Development. Mr. Bendis, who is also President & Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Philadelphia, was a member of the three-man U.N. Committee that spent 6 days in Accra and Kumasi, doing feasibility studies on the country?s IT infrastructure, as the UN considered providing financial assistance toward the Ghana Tech Park venture.
Ghana Cyber Group, Inc. launched the Ghana Technology Park proposal in a 40-page presentation at the Ghana Conference on Technology & Outsourcing, hosted at the Columbia Law School on September 25, 2003 in New York. The event, funded by the office of Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, a former Harvard economist, who is an advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the current Director of Columbia University?s Earth Institute, brought IT professionals and business executives together to learn more about the growing technology industry in Ghana as GCG solicited seed capital for the Ghana Technology Park venture.
In the fall of 2003, shortly after GCG?s launching of the tech park plan, the United Nations invited Yaw Owusu, Founder and Chief Executive of Ghana Cyber Group, Inc., and Dr. Walter Alhassan, former Director General of the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research, to speak at the 2nd UN Forum on Science & Technology Parks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. http://www.ipphila.com/philaunforum/
The mandate of the UN Forum Host Committee was to select an African country to which the United Nations would provide funding and technical guidance for the establishment of a science and technology park. Representatives from Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya and Malawi also outlined similar papers to compete for the UN funding. Ghana and Senegal emerged the strongest contenders for the multi-million dollar venture after the 3-day conference. Mr. Bendis and Sam Eshun, the GCG Chief Operating Officer, are scheduled, on March 21-23, 2005, to meet government and business leaders including:
http://www.ghanacybergroup.com/techparkreport.htm
H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, President, Republic of Ghana
Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Communications & Technology
Hon. Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade & Industry
Hon. Christine Churcher, Minister of Science & Environment
Hon. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Regional Cooperation & NEPAD
Oystein Bjorge, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Telecom
Kwami Asiama, Controller, Fixed Network Services, Ghana Telecom
Ahmad Farroukh, Managing Director, Scancom (Spacefon) Limited
Kwaku Akosah-Bempah, Chief Financial Officer, AngloGold Ashanti
Daniel Owiredu, Chief Operating Officer, AngloGold Ashanti
Saviour Chibiya, Citigroup Ghana Representative
MEDIA UN Representative Rich Bendis and Sam Eshun, the GCG Chief Operating Officer, are scheduled to appear on TV3 at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, March 22, 2005.
HISTORY OF THE GHANA TECH PARK
http://www.ghanacybergroup.com/techparkhistory.htm
Ghana Cyber Group, Inc.
Accra: 020-814-3265
New York: (646) 207-2515
